New Sensations
by Taimmi
Summary: Horatio and Calleigh discover their feelings for each other, and have to learn to work with them.
1. Chapter 1

Calleigh/Horatio fanfic

Moonlight was casting reflections in the pools of water on the pavement outside, lighting up the dew on the grass outside like a thousand diamonds. However, in a line of work such as CSI, you don't have the time to enjoy such beautiful scenery. Instead, Calleigh was standing at her workbench in the ballistics lab examining firearms she had seized from a SWAT raid only a few hours before, still wearing the black military-style uniform.

"Any luck?" Calleigh jumped in fright. She was so engrossed in her work she didn't notice Horatio step in.

Calleigh sighed with relief and put her hand over her heart to recover from the shock. "Not yet," she admitted. "Though I might get changed and come back. This uniform isn't exactly flattering."

"No," said Horatio in his gravelly tone, "I beg to differ."

Calleigh turned to look at him and their eyes met for a few seconds, which seemed to last an eternity. She hastily turned back to her work, and could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as she blushed. Horatio shuffled slightly, sensing the tension. "Yeah, uh…call me if you find anything." Calleigh nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on the dismantled gun in front of her. Horatio turned to walk towards the door, the sound of his heels puncturing the cold silence. Closing the door after him, he paused to gaze through the sheet glass. He watched her for a few moments – examining the way her blonde ponytail flowed between her slight shoulders and how deftly her slender fingers worked complex tasks. He allowed his mind to drift. He'd never felt this way about Calleigh before. He always thought of her as a co-worker and CSI first, and perhaps a friend second. Now those feelings had…changed. As he looked into her blue eyes only a short while ago, he felt something different; a spark almost. He tried to brush it off as best he could and started back towards his office.

Once there, Horatio found a substantial amount of paperwork to sift through waiting on his desk. He started processing firearms reports, analysing profiles of suspects, and examining forensics write-ups. But still he found thoughts of Calleigh returning to his mind – he couldn't forget that moment, and how it felt, wondering if she felt the same. He signed, running his fingers through his crop of red hair and pulled his phone from his pocket.

_Do you want to go for coffee after the shift? H_

He sat for a few moments with his thumb hovering over '_send'_. He summed up some courage and pressed it. _Sending… … … sent._ There was no going back now.


	2. Chapter 2

Horatio was sitting at a table in the usual coffee shop where the crime lab staff would always gather at the end of a long shift, feeding their caffeine habits to help cure their physical and mental fatigue. He checked his watch quickly, drumming his fingers on the table top. He had agreed to meet Calleigh here, but he was still nervous as to whether she would actually show. He gazed this way and that through the glass shop front, wondering from which direction she would come. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder, and the familiar jolly tones of Calleigh Duquesne's rich southern accent. "Hey, how're you doin'?" she said with a smile, sliding her handbag under the table and taking a seat opposite Horatio.

"Yeah, fine – just fine." He struggled to smile, taken aback by how graceful she looked and how the morning light complimented her golden locks and her soft facial features – all the while not knowing how to tell her how he really felt about her.

Calleigh picked up a menu, browsing through her different options. "So, what are you having? Hmm, I'm not sure what to pick. I mean, I might just go with my usual but I'm not sure. Oh, Alexx said this was really nice, I might go with that for a change…" She carried on with the small talk, not looking up at Horatio, trying to avoid the awkward tension she knew would materialise eventually.

Horatio was rubbing his temple – he knew he had to say something, and say it now. "Look, Calleigh…" he said, trying to interrupt her mindless chit chat as politely as possible. She looked up at him then, her blue eyes shining as they always did. "About what happened today, I…" He trailed off, not knowing how to find the words he wanted.

"I know," said Calleigh, "I know. I…feel the same way. Until this afternoon I'd always thought of you as my boss, but today…I'm not sure. My emotions are going crazy, and I – I just don't know what to think anymore."

Horatio nodded in agreement. They paused for a while, looking at each other. Calleigh gazed deep into Horatio's blue eyes, from one to the other. She had never really noticed their deep ocean hue and quite how bright they were. "So what do we do now?" she asked.

Horatio gave a slight shrug. "Well…" he slid his hand across the table and onto hers, so his palm rested lightly on the back of her hand. She didn't flinch or move away, savouring the warmth of his skin on hers. "What do you want to do?"

The hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end, exhilarated by his touch. Everything was happening so quickly. Her eyes wandered over him, admiring his tall physique and his strong shoulders, his red hair and the effortless aura of authority that came from him whenever he was wearing his lieutenant badge and gun at his hip. Her heartbeat rose and she felt herself starting to blush. She felt Horatio give her hand a light squeeze. "Do you want to come back to mine?" he said in a low but soft voice. Calleigh paused, but she knew her answer immediately. "Yes."


	3. Chapter 3

Calleigh awoke to the obnoxiously loud ringing of her mobile phone, vibrating on the bedside table beside her. She grabbed it impatiently and flipped it open. "Duquesne," she answered, her voice croaky from as it was so early in the morning.

"Calleigh, it's Ryan. We've got a body outside Jackson Memorial Hospital, we need you to lend a hand."

"Yeah, sure Ryan. I'll be right there," she said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Also, have you seen Horatio? He's usually in the lab early but I haven't seen him."

Calleigh heard the rustling of sheets beside her and she glanced over her shoulder, still holding her phone to her ear. There she saw her boss lying in bed next to her, his red hair messed and putting on a pair of underwear. She pulled her sheets up to her neck to cover herself. "Uhh…no, not today. Maybe he's – stuck in traffic, or something? Anyway, I'll see you there," she said, snapping her phone closed.

Horatio stood up and turned round to face Calleigh, running his fingers through his hair and giving her a slight smile as she lay shyly in his bed. "Uh, hey. Good morning. I guess we better get ready."

She nodded, "Yeah. I'll just go…take a shower."

"Meet in the Hummer in twenty?"

"Sure," she replied, watching as he left the room in just his boxers. _What have I done? _She thought as she gathered the sheets around her and walked into Horatio's ensuite.

Once she had showered and dressed, she left the house and got straight into the car where Horatio sat waiting patiently with the engine running. "Aren't people going to talk? When we arrive at the same time, I mean."

He put took out his trademark sunglasses from his pocket and shook his head. "I don't think so. I picked you up from the lab on my way to the crime scene, remember?" He chuckled, then donned his shades and hit the accelerator.

"What do we have, Frank?" asked Horatio.

"We've got woman found dead outside in the bushes. Her ID says she's Amy Bowen, a nurse. It looks like she's fallen from one of the windows – we're waiting for Alexx to tell us what story she might have fallen from."

"Or was pushed from," Horatio replied. He walked around the edge of the building, seeming to examine every individual blade of grass with his expert eye. Calleigh walked a few paces behind them, carrying her kit. She couldn't help but look at him as he had his hand on his hip, drumming his fingers as he did when he was deep in thought. They passed under the police tape, and Horatio held it up for Calleigh so she could pass through. "Ma'am," he said politely. "Thank you," she replied with a half-smile. _This is going to be more difficult than I thought _she worried.

As they made their way to the bushes where the body lay, and Ryan couldn't help but notice how the two looked at each other, and that Calleigh was wearing the same clothes from the previous day. Horatio would glance her way every now and then with a smile, although it was hard to tell what he was really thinking through those dark sunglasses. Meanwhile Calleigh would notice him looking, and sheepishly turn away and try to make herself busy. He was puzzled, and didn't really know what to make of it, but brushed it aside to focus on the case at hand.

Horatio bent over the body, examining the position in which she landed. Noticing blood on her back, he turned her over slightly. "Frank, there's a gunshot wound here," he remarked.

"Well, I guess it doesn't take a doctor to work out what our cause of death is, then."

"No, it doesn't," he agreed, just as Alexx made her way over to the body.

"Did someone say doctor?" she joked, kneeling down on the ground to examine the body. "Well, she was definitely shot before she fell as there isn't much of a blood pool here. There's one entry wound…but no signs of an exit." She turned the woman again onto her back to examine her limbs. "Well honey, you sure got beat up down here, didn't you? It looks like both wrists are broken, Horatio, along with a few ribs. I'd say she probably fell from the third floor, although I'll be able to tell you more after the post."

"Thank you," he replied, "Frank, will you go to the hospital and do some research into Amy, find out if she might have any enemies in the hospital. Calleigh, will you go back to the lab with Alexx to examine the bullet."

Frank nodded and set off towards the main entrance while Alexx led the body away on a gurney. Horatio turned to go back towards the Hummer, but Calleigh caught his arm quickly. "Horatio, wait… I think – I think we need to talk about, uhm, about what happened last night."

He turned towards her and took off his glasses, his ice blue eyes deep with concern. "Sure, Calleigh. Whatever you want."


End file.
